Powell City Council race

Swartwout wants his pride in Powell to spread

Daniel Swartwout's 2-year-old daughter was the catalyst for his campaign to win one of four open spots on Powell City Council.

"The main reason I'm running is because I like the community so much," he said. "I think it's such a great place to live and as my daughter is growing older, I want her to have that same sense of community, belonging and pride in Powell that I do."

He said his main focus as a council member would be to ensure the city addresses its traffic problems and controls development to maintain the qualities that brought him and his wife, Tasha, to Powell in 2004.

"I don't want to see that quality of life that we all moved here for diminished or scarified," he said. "Especially as more projects move in and we have more development, I think it's really important to emphasize the parks and the bike paths -- the things that bring people together, that make people want to live in Powell and that make Powell such a great community.

"Because of traffic, it just takes so long to get through downtown Powell that I'm worried sometimes people will avoid what should be a real showplace for us," he added.

Council already has plans in place that could help ease traffic congestion, and if elected, Swartwout said he'll make those projects a priority instead of "putting them on the back burner as some of the other developments happen around Powell."

On the Nov. 5 ballot, Swartwout will face incumbents Sara Marie Brenner, Tom Counts, Jim Hrivnak and Brian Lorenz and newcomer Frank Bertone. Former candidate Sarah Minto has removed herself from consideration, though her name still may appear on ballots.

Swartwout said because a majority of seats on Powell City Council and the Liberty Township board of trustees are up for election, now is the time to begin building a better relationship between the two entities.

"I really think we have a chance for a restart," he said. "There could be new people and new ideas who are not holding on to some of the animosity that has developed, so I think it's a wonderful opportunity to build the relationship between Powell and Liberty."

Swartwout, 39, said voters should consider making him one of those new faces on council, because his dynamic career and personality lend themselves to working well with residents and council members, no matter what their position on an issue.

In addition to his work as an attorney at his own law firm, Swartwout is a stand-up comedian and master of ceremonies who travels across the country to perform.

"People can know that if I'm on City Council, I will listen to what they have to say. I will consider their issues, their thoughts, their concerns and their ideas," he said. "I will work with them, I will work with City Council and with others in the community to make Powell as great as it can be."